1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a power supply system, and more particularly, to a removable power supply system.
2. Description of Related Art
As the digital age draws on, computer plays an increasingly important part in human life. In addition to a central processing unit (CPU) capable of computing at high speed and enough RAM capacity, a computer with excellent performance must possess a power supply for supplying power to the computer itself steadily.
In order to enable a computer, especially an industrial computer or server used in a system working around the clock, to run for a long period of time, standby power supplies must be additionally installed to supply power to the computer steadily. Take a server as an example, in a situation where multiple power supplies are installed in the server to take turns to stand by, it is necessary to install inside the server an adapter equipped with a power-related flat cable; the input end of the adapter is electrically connected to multiple power supplies, whereas the output end of the adapter is electrically connected to a motherboard inside the server, thereby automatically switching to a fully functioning power supply for supplying power steadily.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional power supply system for use with a server. The power supply system comprises a power supply adapter set 1 and a power supply 2. The power supply adapter set 1 includes two power supply adapters 10, each having an electrical connection portion 101. The power supply 2 includes an electrical connection portion 20 electrically connected to one of the electrical connection portions 101. In general, each power supply adapter 10 is electrically connected to a power supply 2 (only one of the power supplies 2 is shown herein). Two power supply systems take turns to serve as a standby power supply. The electrical connection portion 20 of the power supply 2 is inserted into the power supply adapter set 1 through an opening at the rear of the server (not shown). At a normal operating state, only one of the power supply adapters 10 in the power supply adapter set 1 is employed to maintain the power required by the server, and the other power supply adapter 10 is at a standby state. Once a functioning power supply system breaks down, the power supply 2 must be removed and inspected.
However, once the conventional power supply system breaks down, what can be done is removing the power supply for inspection; failure of the power supply adapter 10 can be confirmed, only if an inspection shows that the power supply 2 is in good condition. The two power supply adapters 2 of the power supply system share the same casing, and each is electrically connected to a power supply 2, thus it is necessary to open the casing and shut down the system in order to repair the nonfunctioning power supply adapter 10. It always takes much time to do so. Also, the longer the server is idling, the throughput is compromised to a greater extent.
As mentioned above, in order to repair a power supply adapter, it is necessary to open the casing of the server and remove the power supply adapter, rather than concurrently remove the power supply adapter and the power supply from behind the server, for two reasons. First, the power supply adapter is installed inside the server. Second, the power supply adapter is coupled to a power supply by electrical connection only, rather than by any mechanical fastening mechanism. In a situation where a component, such as a motherboard, overlies a power supply adapter, or in another situation where a power supply adapter is partitioned into an upper compartment and a lower compartment, two problems arise. First, removal of a power supply adapter causes the server to idle. Second, an attempt to electrically connect a power supply adapter to a power supply anew may end up placing the power supply adapter in the wrong position or damaging an electrical connection portion. Hence, the aforesaid prior art may damage the related component when applied in a disassembly process, thus reducing its industrial applicability.
Accordingly, the problem to be solved here is to develop and fabricate a removable power supply system which is convenient to maintain, such that both the power supply adapter and the power supply may be simultaneously removed from or installed in the server, without compromising the operation of the system during maintenance.